Cartridge-box.



No. 695,576. Patented Mar. I8, I902.

I G. MIGLIARDI.

CARTRIDGE BDX.

(No Model.) (Application filed Dec: 9' 1901.) 2 Sheath-Sheet l.-

' v I a 3 v B v IllilllFllllillW l IIHIIINIINIIU' Y lmllllill" Ill llllllllllill Wiii1dS 0 wntoff Patented Mar. |s,"-|9p2.

G. MIGLIARDI.

v CARTRIDGE BOX.

(Applicat ion filed Dec. 9, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' Yfda/w fastened to the wearer.

GIOVANNI MIGLIARDI, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CARTRIDGE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,576, dated March 18, 1902. Application filed December 9,1901. Serial No. 35.210. (Remodel) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GIOVANNI MIGLIARDI, son of the late Raffacle Migliardi, from Ardore, in the Province of Oalabria, Italy, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cartridge-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to cartridge-boxes,

and especially to such cartridge-boxes as are adapted for use in war time by soldiers who carry magazine-rifles. 1

The primary object of the invention is to provide a cartridge-box which will securely hold the cartridges against accidental'loss from any of the ordinarycauses of loss, but

which will enable the soldier to extract the cartridges necessary for reloading his rifle in a small fraction of the time required for this purgose with the cartridge-boxes heretofore use In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the box when closed. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the box when open, so as to permit the removal of the cartridges. Fig. 3 is a plan viewwith the swinging cover partly. broken away. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view in the plane indicated by the line 4 4 of Fig. 1 when the cartridge-box is empty. Fig. 5 is a sectional end view in the plane substantially as indicated by the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 when the cartridge-box is open, and Fig. 6 is a sectional end View taken in the same plane when the box is closed.

The box A is of any convenient form and is preferably made of sheet metal. As shown, it is concave on its rear side, approximating the contour of the wearers body, and it is there provided with loops at, through which will pass the strap by which the cartridge-box is The box is provided with a cover B, hinged to its reartop edge, and with a sliding front member 0. The lower part of the box has, preferably, a permanent front side a, which is a convenient support for the attachment of the cross-arms G, to which the cartridge-holding clamps K are fastened, and it also furnishes a convenient support for a certain spring H, whose func I tion will be presently explained. The sliding front member O has notched ribs 0 on its ends, which are slidably mounted in vertical grooves a, located at the front edges of the end sections of the box. On the inner side of this sliding member, near its top edge, is a spring-latch D, whose point projects through a hole 0 in said sliding member, near its upper edge, and is adapted to enter a recess b in the front flange b of the cover. In the form I shown this so-called spring-latch is the bent-over end of a spring which is attached to the inner face of the sliding member and whose tension is such as to force the latch for- Ward, so that the point will engage with the cover, as stated. To operate this latch, there is apush plate or button d lying in front of the movable member and secured to a studd, passing through a hole in said member and secured to said spring-latch. By pressing against this plate or button the latch is withdrawn from this engagement with the cover, and then the sliding member may be moved downward. Said member is, however, norother suit-able form. Secured to the front face of the sliding member and preferably extend ing from one side thereof to the other is a substantially horizontal push-flange 0 upon 7 catch d which is a stud 01, having a notch on its upper side, adapted when the latch is pressed inward after the sliding member has been lowered to pass beneath a spring P, at tached to the box-front a, whereby the sliding member is latched in its lowered position. Normally this spring P lies in such a position that it does not interfere with the downward movement of the sliding member even when the latch is pressed backward, this being partly due to the fact that the lower side of the catch-pin d is beveled.

As before stated, the cover is hinged to the rear side of the box. It has a .rearwardlyprojecting arm 12 which is connected by means of a' link b with a sliding bar b operating in a suitable inclosed guideway a on the rear side of the box. This bar has on its lower end a forwardly projecting arm 11 through which is a hole Z). Secured to the sliding member is another bar 0 having a horizontal arm 0 which extends underneath the box and underneath the arm I), as shown. A stud Q, passes through the hole I) in the arm 11 and screws into the end of the horizontal arm 0 last referred to, which stud has a head q upon its upper end. When the box is closed, this stud passes through a hole a in the bottom of the box and lies almost wholly inside the box in such a position, substantially as shown, that it does not touch the cartridges. The arm 0 attached to the sliding member, engageswith the lower side of the arm 5 and forces it up against the bottom of the box, thereby closing the cover, as shown in Fig. 6.

\Vithin the box are a series of spring-clasps K of any suitable shape and of such size that they will wholly inclose the bullet or projectile, but will clasp the tapered lower end of the cartridge-shell and will clasp it with sufficient force to hold it even though the box be turned up side down and shaken with greater or less force. A plurality of cartridges will ordinarily be secured in holders M, substantially as shown. The holders shown are of familiar form and hold six cartridges, although, of course, any other form of holder holding a greater or less number of cartridges might be employed in their stead. These clasps K, while snfiiciently powerful and contractible for the purpose stated, cannot contract to such an extent that when the cartridges are being removed they will scrape the grease from the projectile.

This cartridge-box is operated as follows: When a soldier desires to remove a cartridge, or a holder full of cartridges when the cartridges are embraced by holders, he first presses withhis third fingeragainst the plate or button d, and thereby pushes back the latch D, which connects the cover and the sliding member, and then with his fourth finger he pushes the sliding member down by pressure against said flange 0 With his disengaged thumb and first and second fingers of the same hand he takes hold of one of the cartridge-holders and by a quick pull pulls the cartridges loose from the clasps K and clear of the box, and this he may do before the cover descends, because the sliding front section 0 must be raised nearly to its normal position before the arm a, to which the screw is fastened, engages with the arm 12 and pushes it up with the result of closing the cover. In other words, the cover is closed during the last fraction of movement of the sliding member.

It will be understood that when the box is designed to hold only cartridges which are in the embrace of holders there need be only oneor two clasps K for each holder full of cartridges. If the box is designed to hold independent cartridges, a clasp must be pro-' vided for each one.

Attention is particularly directed to the fact that the box automatically closes and locks itself, but that it may be unlocked and opened with one hand and that the cartridges may be removed with the same hand, the unlocking and opening of the box and removing of the cartridges therefrom being component parts of one continuous operation. It will be noticed also that the box may be latched in its opened condition and that to close it again the man has only to push down on the flange 0 thereby slightly depressing the sliding member 0, which releases the spring P from the catch d", and that then the box will close and lock itself when the sliding member is released.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In a cartridge-box, the combination of a box havinga vertically-movable front section, a spring for slidingit upward, a hinged cover and mechanism connecting said cover and front section adapted to transmit motion from the latter to the former.

2. In a cartridge-box, the combination of the box containing a plurality of upright spring cartridge-clasps, a cover hinged to said box, a sliding front section, a spring for sliding it upward, and mechanism connecting said cover and front section and adapted to transmit motion from the latter to the former, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a cartridge-box, the combination of a box, a vertically-movable front section therefor, an arm a secured to said section and extended under its lower edge and under the box, a cover hinged to the rear side of the box and having a rearwardly-projecting arm, a vertically-movable bar mounted in a guideway on the rear side of the box and having a horizontal arm extending under the box, a link connecting the upper end of said bar with the arm on the cover, a stud having a head on its upper end which stud passes through a hole in the arm 12 and is secured to the arm a.

4. In a cartridge-box, the combination of the box and a plurality of upright spring cartridge-clamps secured therein, said clamps being deeper than the projecting end of the projectile of the cartridge which the box is designed to hold, and said clamps being also of such diameter that they will grasp the cartridge-shell but cannot grasp the projecting end of said projectile, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a cartridge-box, the combination of a box having a permanent front side which extends only part of the distance between the bottom and top edge of the box, transverse bars g extending between and secured to said front section and to the back side of the box, a plurality of spring cartridge-clamps secured to said bars, a cover hinged to the rear side of the box, a spring-actuated vertically-movable front section, and mechanism connecting said cover and front section and adapted to transmit motion from the latter to the former.

IIO

6. In a cartridgebox, the combination of a box whose permanent front side extends only a short distance up from the bottom ,and whose ends extend in front of said permanent front side, a springraised sliding front section whose ends operate in vertical grooves in the front vertical edges of said sides, an outwardly-projecting flange secured to the outer side thereof,a hinged cover,a spring-latch carried by the sliding front section and adapted to engage with the cover, apush-plate for operating said spring-latch carried by said front section above said flange, and mechanism connecting said cover and front section and adapted to transmit motion from said section to the cover.

7. In a cartridge-box, the combination of a box having a permanent front side which extends only part of the distance between the bottom and top of thebox, and whose ends extend in front of said permanent front side, a vertically-movable spring-actuated front section, Whose ends operate in vertical grooves in the vertical front edges of said ends, a cover hinged to the rear side of the box, mechanism connecting the cover and movable frontsection and adapted to transmit motion from the latter to the former, a spring-latch secured to said sliding section and adapted to engage with the flange of the cover, a rearwardly-projecting catch-pin connected with said latch and a spring secured to, the permanent front section and adapted to be engaged by said catch-pin'to'hold the box open.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses."

GIOVANNI MIGLIARDI.

Witnesses:

NiooLA OERRI, E. L. THURSTON. 

